MBV infection in various stages of black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon)

MBV infection in various stages of Penaeus monodon were studied. In hatcheries, MBV infection was detected early in nauplii stage using PCR technique, whereas rates of infection of 11.15-49.50% were observed in PL1 using histological technique, rising up to 15.26-100% in PL 10. In earthen ponds, the infection in PL15 was initially in the range of 68.68-96.00%. The infection was decreased toward the end of the first, second and third month of rearing period ranging between 13.63-54.83%. The laboratory trial showed that types of feed might affect the rate of MBV infection of larvae. Postlarva fed with artemia showed lowest infection rate at 29.41±7.98%, whereas the infection rates of shrimp fed with minced cockle flesh and commercial feed were 39.09±12.08% and 52.81±11.91, respectively. In stress test trial, a significant MBV infection was detected in the group of larvae that were raised with 25ºC and 34ºC and the salinity at 6 ppt and 18 ppt for 12 hours then rearing in normal condition for 3 days. In the 24 hour-stress trial, and transferred to normal condition for 7 day, the groups that were exposed to stress conditions had significantly higher rates of infection than the control group (p<0.05). The 24 hour - transportationcondition resulted in highest MBV infection rate (73.61±1.25%). From the present study, it was concluded that MBV infection in larvae from hatcheries increases with period of rearing and stress exposure, but the infection tended to decreased with rearing period in earthen pond condition. Proper feeding management and prevention of stress conditions could reduce of MBV infection in black tiger shrimp

Self-force: Computational Strategies

Building on substantial foundational progress in understanding the effect of a small body's self-field on its own motion, the past 15 years has seen the emergence of several strategies for explicitly computing self-field corrections to the equations of motion of a small, point-like charge. These approaches broadly fall into three categories: (i) mode-sum regularization, (ii) effective source approaches and (iii) worldline convolution methods. This paper reviews the various approaches and gives details of how each one is implemented in practice, highlighting some of the key features in each case.Comment: Synchronized with final published version. Review to appear in "Equations of Motion in Relativistic Gravity", published as part of the Springer "Fundamental Theories of Physics" series. D. Puetzfeld et al. (eds.), Equations of Motion in Relativistic Gravity, Fundamental Theories of Physics 179, Springer, 201

Haematological studies of climbing perch (Anabas testudineus Bloch)

Some blood parameters of the climbing perch (Anabas testudineus Bloch) i.e. red (RBC) and white (WBC) blood cell count, percent haematocrit (HTC), hemoglobin, plasma protein as well as hepatosomatic index (HSI) were studied. There were no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) in average body weight and length of fish from the earthen pond and net cage culture, which were 16.85±1.46 g and 16.24±2.42 g, respectively, for the weight and 10.02±0.25 and 9.74±0.37 cm, respectively, for the length. Haematologicalstudies revealed that RBC, WBC including percent HTC levels of the fish from earthen pond and net cage were not significantly different (> 0.05). Whereas hemoglobin and serum protein concentration of the fish sampling from net cage were higher than those sampled from the earthen pond (p<0.05), with value of 12.21± 0.91 g/dl and 11.12±0.85 g/dl for hemoglobin and 4.61±0.50 mg/dl and 3.87±0.62 mg/dl for serum protein, respectively. HSI of the fish cultured in the earthen pond was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that of fish reared in net cage, with value of 1.93±0.12% and 1.66±0.12%, respectively

Ubiquitous presence of piscidin-1 in Atlantic cod as evidenced by immunolocalisation

Background: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), the natural antibiotics bestowed upon all forms of life, consist of small molecular weight proteins with a broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against a variety of pathogenic microorganisms. Piscidins are one of the AMP families that are imperative for the innate defence mechanisms of teleosts. Atlantic cod, a basal fish belonging to the superorder Paracanthopterygii also possesses multiple piscidin peptides. Two piscidin paralogues (pis1 and pis2) and a novel alternative splice variant of pis2 of this fish were previously described by us. To shed light on other potent roles of these molecules, now we have mapped the distribution of piscidin 1 (Pis1), in different tissues and organs of cod through immunohistochemistry (IHC) employing an affinity purified polyclonal antibody specific to Pis1. Results: Various cell types and tissues of Atlantic cod including those from the immune organs of naive fish are armed with Pis1 peptide. Different types of the blood leucocytes and phagocytic cells among the leucocytes examined gave a relatively strong indication of Pis1 immunopositivity. In addition, other cell types such as hematopoietic cells, epithelial cells and multi-granular cells located in the mucosal and hematopoietic tissues were also Pis1-immunoreactive. More interestingly, chondrocytes appear to produce Pis1 and this is the first report on the presence of an AMP in cartilage tissue of fish. Furthermore, Pis1 immunopositivity was detected in other tissues and organs of naive fish including neural tissues, exocrine and endocrine glands, compound gland cells, excretory kidney, intestinal and respiratory epithelial cells, swim bladder, skin and hypodermis layer, myosepta, liver, heart, eye and oocytes. Conclusions: Pis1 peptide is produced by various cell types located in different tissues and organs of Atlantic cod. It is present in all immune-related organs of naive fish and the elevated peptide expression following phagocytosis strongly suggest their involvement in innate defence. Further, its widespread occurrence in non-immune tissues and organs of apparently healthy fish implies that piscidin may have other functions in addition to its role as an immune effector molecule

Pathogenesis and virulence of Vibrio harveyi from southern part of Thailand in black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon Fabricius

Ten isolates of bacteria were performed from diseased black tiger shrimp collected from farms in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Patthalung, Songkhla, Satun and Patthani. All isolates belonged to Vibrio harveyi, forming rounded colonies with smooth periphery and hemolysis of red blood cells. The colonies appearedgreen and yellow on TCBS selective media and indeeded both luminescent and non-luminescent groups. To support good growth as cell proliferation, an addition of 2-8% salt to the culture media was required. Sensitivity tests against antibiotics showed that all ten isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol, norfloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, oxolinic acid, oxytetracyclin and sarafloxacin at 80, 60, 50, 40, 40 and 30%, respectively. When 12-15 g juvenile shrimp were tested for the virulence by injection, the isolates were highly virulent with OD at 640 nm in the range 0.007-0.139. The bacteria concentration of 1.60×106 - 7.27×107 CFU/ ml caused 50% juvenile mortality in ten days. The physiological changes after susceptibility included a decline in the blood cells (p<0.05), higher plasma pH (p<0.05), decrease in serum protein within 24 h (p<0.05), and a return to normal levels within 48 h. There were no differences in blood sugar levels and phenoloxidase activity between the healthy and the infected individuals. Histological study showed that at an early period of susceptibility, there were swollen tubular lumen, minor cell degeneration of the hepatic tubules and lymphoid organs and aggregation of blood cells around the degenerating cells. During 7-day susceptibility period, there was large scale cell degeneration of the hepatopancreas, lymphoid organs, gills and blood formingorgans with a great extent of blood cell aggregation and eventually mortalities occurred. During 14 day susceptibility period, there was almost entire degeneration of cells in hepatic tubules and lymphoid organs causing hepatopancreatic tubular necrosis. During this period, juveniles did not accept feed and total mortality occurred

Construction and Characterization of an Effector Strain of Streptococcus mutans for Replacement Therapy of Dental Caries

An effector strain has been constructed for use in the replacement therapy of dental caries. Recombinant DNA methods were used to make the Streptococcus mutans supercolonizing strain, JH1140, lactate dehydrogenase deficient by deleting virtually all of the ldh open reading frame (ORF). To compensate for the resulting metabolic imbalance, a supplemental alcohol dehydrogenase activity was introduced by substituting the adhB ORF from Zymomonas mobilis in place of the deleted ldh ORF. The resulting clone, BCS3-L1, was found to produce no detectable lactic acid during growth on a variety of carbon sources, and it produced significantly less total acid due to its increased production of ethanol and acetoin. BCS3-L1 was significantly less cariogenic than JH1140 in both gnotobiotic- and conventional-rodent models. It colonized the teeth of conventional rats as well as JH1140 in both aggressive-displacement and preemptive-colonization models. No gross or microscopic abnormalities of major organs were associated with oral colonization of rats with BCS3-L1 for 6 months. Acid-producing revertants of BCS3-L1 were not observed in samples taken from infected animals (reversion frequency, <10(−3)) or by screening cultures grown in vitro, where no revertants were observed among 10(5) colonies examined on pH indicator medium. The reduced pathogenic potential of BCS3-L1, its strong colonization potential, and its genetic stability suggest that this strain is well suited to serve as an effector strain in the replacement therapy of dental caries in humans